The Captain & The Badass
by WhalesForSale
Summary: Steve discovers something about himself and has a hard conversation with Natasha after their first time. Post CA:TWS but NO SPOILERS


**_This is my first Captain America fanfic, so I hope you enjoy! Everybody likes reviews, so let me know if this is worth more chapters, a prequel or if it's a one-shot._**

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**The Captain & the Badass  
**by WhalesForSale 

Rogers lay sprawled in bed staring at the ceiling. So Sam was right, he was a so-called, "ass man." _I'll be damned_, he thought wryly and absentmindedly squeezed the soft bottom cupped in his hand. She stirred, nuzzling against his neck.

"Again?" Natasha sighed half asleep, "Rogers I need a break. Not all of us have Super Stamina." She ran her hand lazily across his bare chest and kissed his jawline before nestling back against him. Steve chuckled and apologized. "No, I was just thinking about Sam."

Natasha snorted, her voice full of derision. "Seriously? You're lying in bed with a naked woman in your arms and you tell her you were thinking about a dude while you're squeezing her ass? I take back what I said earlier—you know nothing about women."

Steve laughed, "It's not like that. I was just thinking about how Sam told me I was an "ass-man." I didn't really understand what that meant until just now. He's right though, you do have a particularly fine bottom," he assured her, patting her rump fondly.

"Mmmhm."

"It's soft and round and when you bend over it's the shape of a—"

"Steve—"

"—ripe peach and—"

"—_oh my God seriously_—"

"—we've only made love twice, so there might be something even better, but we'll just have to see…" he said turning her onto her back and kissing her neck and collarbone. Natasha gave a low, throaty laugh, almost purring. Her fingers twined through his hair and rested on the nape of his neck. Steve felt warmth spread to his groin like a trail of fire.

"_Only _twice? Baby I'm already sore from two, so if we do three then I might be crippled."

Steve jerked up suddenly, "Nat, why didn't you tell me I was hurting you?" Natasha grabbed his face and pulled him back down for a rough kiss that turned into something slow, wet and rich.

"Don't worry about it," she murmured against his mouth, "It's a good sore. But I do need a nap. And a hot bath." They settled back down and Steve ran his large hand in circles across her back. "You cold?" he asked with his eyes closed.

"Uh-uh."

"Okay," he yawned.

"Steve?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are you here?"

"I thought we established The Ripe Peach Act of 2015."

Natasha snorted. "In _Prague_," she drawled.

"Hmm," he hummed, stalling while weighing the effect of his words. "I knew you were in Europe."

"And I won't ask how," she deadpanned.

"Smart choice," he countered.

"But seriously, you've been in the city for over a month and never fully answered that question." Natasha peeled away from him and propped her head on her hand, looking at him. "So spill it Cap."

Steve smiled, his eyes still closed. "I came looking for you."

"Why?"

Steve pictured her staring at him with her eyebrows knitted together in confusion—that tiny little furrow that he'd had the privilege to kiss until it was smooth. He didn't need to look at her to know he was right, but he did anyway. Blue eyes met green, searching. "Because, a man wants to know his girl is safe."

He waited for her reaction. All he got was a fractional eyebrow raise. Most people would have missed it, but after working with her for 2 years, it was a whole conversation in itself.

"Am I your girl, Steve Rogers?" Her tone was light and teasing.

"Well, I was kinda hopin' you wanted the position."

The corner of her mouth twitched up. "Is there an application process?"

"Nope, we wanna hire you on the spot."

"What if I get better offers?"

"No one can match what we offer."

"Oooo, cocky. I like that."

"Got the full benefits package."

"Well, I'm definitely sold on your package," she admitted and Steve chuckled.

"So," Steve asked looking into her eyes, "what's your answer?"

Natasha's smile slowly melted away as she realized the gravity of his question. "I think…I think you shouldn't ask me that question. You don't really know me," she said lowering her eyes.

"I do know you," he said seriously.

"You think you do, but you don't," she whispered. Steve sat up and turned to her.

"Natasha. I wish you would stop trying to convince me that I should only see you as the person you _think_ you are and allow me have the person I _know_ you are. Hey," he said tilting her chin up, "if you think I'm some Boy Scout then you'd be dead wrong. I've done things that I'm ashamed of. I have memories…things that I stuff down so I can keep functioning. Nobody's walking around out there undamaged—"

"I have a past, Steve."

"Hey, welcome to the world."

"I've done things you don't want to imagine..." she huffed bitterly.

"You can't condition me into accepting made up limitations. You keep telling yourself these stories about who you are and how you believe people see you. If waking up from my past taught me anything, it's that the world isn't so black and white anymore. A man used to know what he was fighting against—it was cut and dry. But in this world there are no princes or angels, no good guy bad guy. All of us were given tools that we're trying to do our best with—I know you know that better than anyone, Nat." Steve sighed, "I get the feeling that if you don't wise up, you're gonna block something special—a blessing."

Natasha looked at him sharply, her anger rising. "Oh so now you're a blessing?"

"No Natasha, _you are_. That is you could be, this could be, if you'd let it happen."

This caught her off-guard and her anger faded. She looked at him with such intensity and Steve thought her almond-shaped eyes grew deeper, darker, more reflective. She was weighing her own reflection in his eyes, trying to see if it was safe enough, secure enough to make the leap across the void and into his arms. He knew this was _the_ moment and that if he so much as blinked, she would retreat back into herself.

_Sometimes the differences between us seem smaller than a pond, at others, wider than the vastest lake, that I can't see my way across…_

After a long moment Natasha swallowed audibly and nodded. "Okay."

Steve smiled and caressed her cheek. He gently nuzzled and kissed the bridge of her nose and then her full lips. Natasha kissed him back and allowed him to pull her back down into his arms. She closed her eyes and snaked an arm across his chest, squeezing gently. "Okay," he whispered back, and smiled against her hair.


End file.
